Saturday, April 30, 2011

So far, WR Leonard Hankerson is the draft pick I'm the most excited about. This guy sounds like my kind of receiver. Let's look at the my favored draft websites to see the particular characteristics that make me think he can contribute.

“...nice long arms that he uses to create separation against press coverage... great leaping ability... A hard worker, Hankerson has worked diligently to improve his game and has gotten better every single year. NFL teams will love his make-up as he is a high character and mature player"

• Very athletic with good speed, quickness, and agility
• Real stout at the point of attack and stuffs the run
• Strong, physical, powerful and a terrific bull rusher
• Is able to penetrate and make plays in the backfield

After a few hours of considerable internet confusion over whether he would play nose or end (he played 4-3 DT in college), Shanahan finally referred to him as an end in an interview so that's what I'm going to call him until we hear differently. The Redskins apparently told him he would play some tackle as well, and given the array of unconventional formations Haslett like to use guys tend to turn up in all sorts of places, and I suspect Jenkins will not be an exception. Nonetheless, lets file under "end" for now.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

I make no pretense of being a draftnik, so I'm not going to try to convince you that I've spent the last few months down in my bunker breaking down film on college players and have a detailed opinion on the Redskins new first round pick Ryan Kerrigan. I do, however, have an internet connection and therefore have easy access to the opinions of folks who do make use of such bunkers, so let's take a look at some of the highlights of the various online scouting reports and find examples to illustrate why I have somewhat mixed (thought mostly positive) feelings about this pick.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

In a recent mock draft Wes Bunting of National Football Post had the Redskins picking running back Mark Ingram (after a small trade down to the 13 spot). And he makes clear in the introduction that these picks are not predictions but recommendations: "I’m again playing general manager of every team in the top 10 and will be selecting who I would pick for each organization come draft day." So Mr. Bunting thinks that upgrading the talent at running back is such a priority that it's the best use of the Redskins very valuable first round pick.

I agree that the Redskins need to upgrade their running game (ranked 24th by DVOA), but strongly disagree that they need to do this by upgrading their running backs.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Behold, my desperate attempt to find something to talk about during the lockout:

Most underrated Redskin - Adam Carricker

He didn't get noticed until he finally got some support when Vonnie Holliday and Anthony Bryant brought some production to the other two line positions over the last two games. But he was always the one man holding his ground while Ma'ake Kemoeatu and Kedric Golston were busy getting carried downfield. If the rest of the line is improved in the offseason, I think Carricker's consistently solid work will finally start getting some attention.

Most overrated Redskin - Ryan Torain

Note that "overrated" does not mean "bad." Just not as good as he is made out to be. He badly needs to improve his blitz pickup, but he also has pretty poor field vision. Fortunately he has the abiltiy to run his way out of trouble, but a more polished runner wouldn't get himself into much of that trouble in the first place. He has a high ceiling, but he's not there yet.

Staying Medium

This blog, originally founded in the heyday of the Jim Zorn era, is dedicated to countering the irrational euphoria or despair that follows every Washington Redskins win or loss by keeping the focus on the play on the field. You will find I often talk about the boring things like blocking and punting. That's because those things are important. You can email me at stayingmedium@gmail.com or find me on twitter at @staymediumblog.